McVeigh’s defense tab $15 million, records show

Denver  The government spent more than $15 million defending convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh $1.3 million of it as his lawyers tried to delay his execution after he was sentenced.

Records revealing the costs of McVeigh's defense after sentencing were released Friday.

U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch, who presided over McVeigh's trial in Denver, had earlier released documents showing the defense had cost more than $13.8 million in public funds through the trial and sentencing.

McVeigh, 33, was executed by injection on June 11 at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. He originally was scheduled to die May 16, but the government postponed the execution after it was disclosed the FBI withheld nearly 4,500 pages of documents from his defense before his 1997 trial.

The April 1995 bombing killed 168 people and injured hundreds more.

The $1.3 million spent on defending McVeigh after sentencing included $988,238.45 to reimburse attorneys for work, travel and expenses, and $217,765.94 for two defense investigators.

McVeigh was represented by lead attorney Stephen Jones during trial, but the two had a falling out. Nathan Chambers and Robert Nigh then represented McVeigh until his execution, with help from other attorneys.

According to records released previously, the Justice Department spent $82.5 million to investigate and prosecute the case.